Potluck Planner
Set out dish slots by category, send one link, and let everyone claim what they're bringing. You get a live who's-bringing-what list, open-slot counts, duplicate-dish warnings, and a servings check against your guest count.
Plan the table
The link carries the whole plan, claims included. Saving replaces the shared copy — last write wins, so reopen the link just before you save if others have been claiming.
Claim a dish
Pick a category with an open slot, say what you're bringing, and roughly how many people it feeds.
Who's bringing what
Coverage by category
How to run a potluck with this planner
1. Block out the table
Name the event, set the guest count, then decide how many dishes you want in each category. Two mains and four sides reads very differently from six mains — the slot counts are the message you're sending your guests about what the table should look like.
2. Send one link
Hit "Save & copy share link" and drop the link in your group chat. Guests open it on their phones, add their dish, and save. No sign-up, no spreadsheet, no app.
3. Watch the servings, not the dish count
Six dishes that each feed four people won't cover twenty guests. Every claim carries a "serves" number, and the planner adds them up against a target of one main serving and two side servings per guest, so you can see a shortfall while there's still time to fix it.
4. Chase the gaps
Open slots, duplicate dishes, and serving shortfalls all show up as warnings. A day or two out, screenshot the who's-bringing-what list or export the CSV and send it round so nobody forgets the serving spoons.
Potluck planning FAQs
How much food do I actually need?
Count servings rather than dishes. One main serving plus two side servings per guest is a dependable starting point — a side serving being a scoop, not a plateful. So twelve guests want roughly twelve main servings and twenty-four side servings, which two big mains and four generous sides will usually cover. If your crowd grazes for hours rather than sitting down once, nudge the appetite slider up.
How do guests claim a dish?
They open your share link, which shows your categories and how many slots are still open, type their name and their dish, then save and send the new link back. Everything happens in the browser — nobody needs an account.
What if two people save at once?
Last write wins. Each link holds a complete snapshot of the plan, so whoever saves last is the version everyone sees. In practice this is fine for a dozen friends: reopen the link right before you save, add your dish on top of what's already there, and nothing gets lost. If you're coordinating a big crowd, have one person own the plan and collect claims for everyone.
Will it catch duplicate dishes?
Yes. Dish names are matched after case, punctuation, filler words like "homemade", and simple plurals are stripped out, so "Potato Salad" and "potato salads" collide. You'll get a warning naming both people, which is usually all it takes for one of them to switch to something else.
What counts toward the servings check?
Mains count as main servings; sides and salads both count as side servings. Desserts, drinks, and supplies are tracked for coverage but left out of the check, because "enough dessert" is a different question from "enough dinner". Planning the meat side of a cookout instead? The BBQ meat yield calculator works out raw weight per person after cooking loss.
Can I turn the plan into a shopping list?
Whatever you're covering yourself — the supplies slot, the drinks, the main you claimed — belongs on a list the household can both see. The shared grocery list is the companion tool for that; it shares by link the same way this one does.
Is my plan private?
It stays in your own browser until you create a share link. Sharing stores the snapshot behind an unguessable key so guests can load it — anonymous links last 30 days, or 2 years when you're signed in.